Expandable core-former



Aug. 1,6, 1966 L. D. LONG 3,266,767

EXPANDABLE CORE -FORMER Original Filed Aug. 25. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 16, 1966 L. D. LONG EXPANDABLE CORE-FORMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 25, 1960 FIG.

INVENTOR. Rycwfr,

fawn BY M /QqLL d- HTTORNEs/s.

Aug. 16, 1966 L. D. LONG EXPANDABLE coREwoaMER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Aug. 25, 1960 FIG. IO

IN VENTOR 5m/4P@ af/62,

`cams shown in FlG. l; 664 lies `on one oblique axis of the core-former when it United States Patent O ce 3,266,767

Patented August 16, 1966 FIG. 9 is a bottom plan View of the spider plate shown examina diziiilgii roaivi 'i lll FlG 5' l .i l E ll im Lawaai u. rang, no. aan ses, aiiii Mi. rieagaiii si., FIG' l0 1s a JP Plan Vlew "f the P11 Plate Shown l Charleston, SAC. i. FIG' ll alld application Ser. No. SLW/'2, Aug. 25, 1969, now Patent a i FIG 11 1S a bi'tom Plain VICW 0f the Core-former Shown No. fiithti, dated @et 5, i965, which is a division of 111 FIG- 1, but with portions thereof broken awayapplicatien ci'. No. 5L972, Aug. 25, i960, new Patent My core-former is adapted t-o be used in combination No. @,ihdg, dated May 2l, 11%3. Divided aud this with an apparatus of the type disclosed in my Patent No. @Piemme my i9; 12965 Sie No 473,945 3,090,093, issued May 21, 196s, for producing moided 6 Gallus (Ql' mgl-'131) 10 components having cores formed therein. The construction of my core-former is such that it can be inserted in a collapsed condition into an appropriate mold prior cores in cored building blocks and the like. This applito th addltlon O'f the mammal t9 be molded and @en cation iS a division of rny oononding anniicanon Serial 15 expanded to compress said materiall against the inwaidly No` 215,218 iiied August l, 1.96.2, now Parent No e presented'inold walls. u This permit-s the formation .of 3,210,039, which is a division of my application serial hlghdensty molded lftlcles hal/mg com formed theleln No 51,972, iiied August 25, i960, now Patent No For ease of description, the core-formeris described 3,090,093, issued May 2,1 i963- herein as being used to produce cored building blocks It iS an object of rny invention to provide a conn 20 formed from an aggregate mixture. It is to be underformer which can. be expanded by a rotational thrust Stood .howevir that my core'formers can be used for force, which can be uniformly expanded throughout its produclng vallons other .types of cored elemenfs'. length, which can be expanded against the action of sub- My Core'l'ormel lequlres the tlllllst'tlansmlttlllg Shaft stan-tial counter-forces, which can be maintained in a fixed 80 to folate through an angle Of 90 AS Shown m FIG' position and orientation during its expansion, and which 25 core'lfqneils carl-fd on ayrtlcarli exttendfmg Sht Wiii provo Sturdy and dnrobio in nso. or moving t e coreormer in o an ou o a mo In accordance with one form of my invention, the core- A Splder plate S76 ls lflgldly mounted Oll olle elld of the former comprises a plurality of core segments having Shaft 575 for-c0nnectmg he Core'ormer to Sald Shaft inwardly Ipresented thrust-receiving faces which are operaand as sllo'wn ln FIG 5 Salif? plate s 6 has a lateral ement tively engaged by thrust-transmitting cam means mounted fio Substant'lallly as large as e lateral extfmt 0f the Core' ori n first Shaft interposed bonweon the ooro Segments and former in its collapsed position, and has its edges beveled, rotatable to cause said cam means to move the core segas at 578 The oore'fomlr ls expanded by means of the moms into spaced roiarion ro onori other for expanding rotatable shaft 5.*80 extending `upwardly through the shaft the core-former. Conveniently, the core segments are 575 for collnlctloll loza lotatlqlllfl power, Sourcejd d n operatively interconnected whereby upon reverse rotation g5 AS Shown ln FIG' t ezcle' Ormel. lshprovl e Wlt 'of said first shaft said core segments will be moved toward elongated Core Segments 58. lsposed at t e four comers each other to collapse the ooroforrner. of the core-former and slidably connected to the plate A plurality of face plates are operatively connected to 576' To thls end a T shaped key 534 ls mounted .Onlhe the several core segments to bridge the spaces between upper elll of ach of the Core segmellfsrsgz and lis Slld" said segments and prevent the material being cored from 4.o ably relved ltll a rliishal k'wa 80 .forilll loll lle entering into the interior of the core-former from the lower face of e.p at@ s 8.0Wll lll e sides thereof when said coreformer is expanded. Prefkey'WaYS 586 are'disposed on the oblique axes of the plate erabily, the opposed ends of the core segments are also 576.3lld eixtelld lngvarfykfmgfgch of lts omelr' i operatively connected to plate means which prevent the Sllllllar' yha T'S' ape v ey l ls mgun gilt erdovygr material being cored from entering into the interior of face. of lac of the com Segments, 82 all ls Sl fl y the core-former from the ends thereof. Conveniently, 4o reelvedm'a T'Shaped kewl/lay 590 dlsposed (man Ob'llque a pilot is provided at one end of the core-former for guidaXlSOf ih e upper face 0l a Pllot plate 592' A l'ectng'ularly ing the core-former into a m'old and releasably retaining shaped pllot 5% extends dowlnlwalrdly from the pllolt plate it in a fixed position therein, and the plate means at the 592 for lept'loll lll an OPelllllg lll tlle bottom of a mold lopposite end of the core-former is connected to a second r upon movement of the Cole'lfqmler llljlo sald mold Sald shaft for moiving the core-former into and out of operado pllm engagmg the faces. Offsmd Openmg to prevent the tivo position in a rnoid corea'former from rotating in the mold. Als shown in Other objects and features of my invention will become FIG l a 'bolt 591 extellds upwardly through the pllot to apparent from the more detailed description w-hich folrotatably connect the p 1.1m plate 592 to the lower end .0f iows and from tno Elcc.oninnnying drawings7 in which: rr the shaft 58). Conveniently, the pilot plate 592 h'as its FIG. 1 is a vertical section throuvh an expandable corem edges .bevele'd as at 598 and has a laleral extent corre iorrner ornoodyinr, nn, invention. spending to the lat-eral extent of the spider plate 576.

FIG. 2 is a hoizontal section taken on the line 2-2 AS Shown lll FIG' 3 the l'llwaldly presented faces of of HG i. each ou? the core segments comprises a plurality of ver- FIG. 3 7is a horizontal section similar t-o FG. 2 but Flcally spaced thmst'reclvlng faces 6m Wlhlch project showinf, the ooreiorrner in expanded posirion. 60 inwardly toward the vertical coreiformer axis. Between FiGf4 iS a horizontai snotion raken on rhe line 4 4 each olf the thrust-receiving faces 600, the core segment This invention relates to a core-former, and more particularly `to an expandable core-former `for producing of FIG 1. is recessed as at 6M. The core segments 582 are ar- FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5 5 ranged lll dlagpllally Opposed Palrs 582-A and 582B with of FIG. i With portions thereof broken away. the thrust-receiving faces 60d of the pair 582A being dis- FIG 6 iS a Vertical section of the ooroioirner Shown 65 posed in horizontal alignment with the recesses 662 in the in FIG. l, but showing said coieaformer in expanded Palf 582B, and VIC@ VPSaposition; The shaft 580 extends downwardly through the shatft FIG, 7 is .an enlarged fragmentary isometric View 0f '575 and carries two sets of double-'lobed cams 604 and 6% mounted on its lower portion and engageable with the core segments 532. As sho-wn in FIG. 2, the set of cams one of the core lsegments shown in FlG. l;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric View of the 70 is in collapsed position for reception in the recesses 602 in the pair of the diagonally opposed core segments 582B. The other set of cams 606 is disposed 90 out of alignment with the set of cams 604, and is alternately mounted on the shaft 580 .between the cams 604 so that each of the cams 606 lies in the recesses 602 of the other pair of diagonally opposed core segments 582A. `In this manner, the cams 604 and 606 are both disposed in the recesses 602 4of the several core segments when the core-former is in collapsed position with the adjacent faces of adjacent core segments being disposed in abutting relationship. As shown in FIG. 2, the thrust-receiving lfaces 600 on the core segments are curved inwardly toward the vertical core-former Iaxis along the same radius of curvature as the central portion of the cams 604 and 606 interconnecting ythe cram lobes to `thus minimize the `lateral extent of the core-former in its collapsed position.

As shown `in FIGS. 1 'and 7, the series of alternate thrust-receiving faces 600 and recesses 602 on each of the core segments is interrupted adjacent the upper and lower ends of the core segment by a pair of inwardly projecting sleeve 'blocks 610. Each of said lsleeve blocks is provided with openings 612 for the reception of a pair of horizontally disposed sleeves 61.3 slida-bly interconnecting the adjacent core segments 582A and 582B. As shown in FIG. 4, one end of each of said sleeves is connected to one of the core segments in each pair of yadjacent core segments by a counters-Unk bolt 614 around which one end of a coil spring 616 is received. The opposite end of said spring is connected to la countersunk bolt 618, countersunk in a face plate 620 rigidly mounted on the core segment adjacent the core segment in which the bolt 614 is received. IIn Ithis manner, each of the springs 616 biases a p'air of adjacent core segments toward each other to Iurge the core-former into its collapsed position.

Each of the face plates `620 is mounted on one of the core segments 582 as by countersunk screws 622, and -serves to prevent the entry `of aggregate into the coreformer when it is in expanded position. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the face plates 620 has a width corresponding to .the rwidth of the core-former in collapsed position so that it bridges the space lbetween a pair of adjacent core segments 582A and 582B when the coreformer is in expanded position. Extending inwardly from the upper and lower ends of the face plates are top and bottom cover plates 624 and 625, respectively, extending inwardly over the outer faces of the spider plate 576 and pilot plates 592 to abut the shaft 575 and pilot 594. In order to guide the movements of the cover plates during expansion and contraction of the core-former, the outer faces of the spider -and pilot plates are provided with pl-uralities of keyways 626 which slidably receive keys 630 mounted on the inner faces of each of the cover plates `624 yand 625. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 1l, the keys 626 and keyways 630 are disposed at a 45 angle to the transverse core-former axes, the angle of movement of the face plates 620 and core segments A582. Conveniently, the edges of the `face plates 620 and cover plates 624 and 625 are beveled, as at 627, to screed any laggregate from the sunfaces on which they slide during contraction of the core-former.

Thus, the 4operation o-f the core-former illustrated in FIGS. 1-11 may be described as fol-lows: The shaft 575 is moved `axially to position the core-former in a mold, with the pilot 594 seating said core-former `in an operative position therein. When the shaft 580 is rotated through 'a 90 angle in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 26, `the cams 604 will rotate into engagement Iwith the thrust-receiving faces `600 on the opposed pair of core segments 582A, `and the cams 606 'will be rotated into engagement with the -thrust-receiving faces 600 on the diagonally opposed pair of core segments 582B. As shown in FIG. 3, `movement of the cams 604 and 606 against the thrust-receiving faces on the several core segments causes said core segments to move outwardly in spaced relation to each other on the oblique axes of the core-former to expand said core-former. This outward movement of the core segments is guided by the keys 584 and 583 on the core segments sliding in the keyways in the spider and pilot plates `576 and 592, and by the sleeves 613 sliding in the core segment openings 612. With the core segments in this expanded position, as shown in FIG. 3, the face plates 620 bridge the spaces between the spaced pairs of adjacent core segments along the side faces of the core--former to prevent the entry of aggregate therein. And the top and bottom cover plates 624 and 625 .cooperating with the spider plate 576 and pilot plate 592 prevent the entry of aggregate into the core-former from the top and bottom thereof.

To retract the core-former into its collapsed position, the shaft 530 is rota-ted through an angle of in a cou-nterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. This rotational movement of the shaft moves the cams 604 and 606 into the recesses 602 in the core segments 582B and 582A respectively. With the cams out of engagement with the thrust-receiving faces on the core segments, said core segments are pulled inwardly toward their collapsed positions by the plurality of springs 616. Such inward movement of the core segments is also guided by their respective keys sliding in the spider and pilot plates and by the sleeves 613 in which the springs 616 are carried. During this inward `movement of the core segments, the beveled edges on the face plates and the spider and pilot plates will slide along the outer faces of the core segments .to screed any aggregate therefrom, with the beveled edges of the top `and bottom cover plates 624 and 625 screeding the outer faces of said spider and pilot plates.

I claim:

1. An expandable core-former, comprising two pairs of elongated diagonally opposed core segments, said core segments being movable with respect to each other and each having a plurality of thrust-receiving faces and recesses with the thrust-receiving faces on the core segments in one pair being aligned with the recesses in the other pair and the thrust-receiving faces on said other pair being aligned with the recesses in said one pair, a first shaft movable for moving the core-former to and from an operative position in a mold and having means slidably connected to said core segments for guiding the movements thereof, a second shaft rotatably carried in said first shaft and having cam means mounted thereon and interposed between said core segments, said cam means having lobes receivable in said recesses when the core-former is collapsed and receivable against said thrust-receiving faces upon rotation of said second shaft to move said core segments outwardly for expanding the 'core-former, means interconnecting said core segments for moving them inwardly to collapse the core-former, and means bridging and closing the spaces between said core segments.

2. An expandable core-former as set forth in claim 1 in which said cam means comprises two sets of double lobed cams mounted on said second shaft, the lobes on one set being transverse to the lobes on the other set whereby the lobes on each set are received in the recesses in one of said pairs of core segments when the coreformer is collapsed and bear against the thrust-receiving faces on the other pair of core segments to expand the core-former when said second shaft is rotated in coreformer expanding direction.

3. An expandable core-former as set forth in claim 1 in which said thrust-receiving faces and recesses are alternately disposed on each of said core segments, and said cam means comprises two sets of double lobed cams, the cams in each of said two sets of cams being alternately mounted on said second shaft in offset relation to each other with the lateral faces of each of said cams interposed between the cam lobes being curved inwardly and disposed in abutting relation with a pair of said thrust- 5 receiving faces when the core-former is in collapsed position, said thrust-receiving faces having the same curvature as said lateral cam faces.

4. An expandable core-former as set forth in claim 1 in which said means interconnecting the core segments compnises a plurality of sleeves fxedly mounted in each of said core segments and slidably received in an -opening formed in an adjacent core segment, and a spring carried in each of said sleeves and connected to a pair of adjacent core segments.

5. An expandable core-former, comprising two pairs of elongated diagonally opposed core segments, said core segments being movable with respect to each other and each having a plurality of thrust-receiving faces and recesses with the thrust-receiving faces on the core segments in one pair being aligned with the recesses in the other pair and the thrust-receiving faces on said other pair being aligned with the recesses in said one pair, a first shaft movable for moving the core-former to and from an operative position in a mold, a plate iixedly mounted on said first shaft and slidably connected to the upper ends of said core segments, a second shaft rotatably carried in said first shaft and having cam means mounted thereon and interposed between said core segments, said cam means having lobes receivable in said recesses when the core-former is collapsed and receivable against said thrust-receiving faces upon rotation of said second shaft to move said core segments outwardly for expanding the core-former, means :interconnecting said core segments for moving them inwardly to collapse the core-former, a pilot plate rotatably connected to the lower end of said second shaft and slidably connected to the lower end of References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 404,673 6/1889 Bennett 249-181 772,259 10/ 1904 Shell 249-147 793,539 6/ 1905 Pettyjohn 249-147 XR 814,304 3/1906 Landmann. 817,684 4/1906 Wiltse 249-147 X 994,643 6/1911 Johnson. 2,298,006 10/1942 George 25-41.5 2,315,634 4/1943 McCall 249-179 2,878,545 3/1959 Lowe 25-128 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/1927 France. 12/ 1926 Switzerland.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

J. HOWARD FLlNT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN EXPANDABLE CORE-FORMER, COMPRISING TWO PAIRS OF ELONGATED DIAGONALLY OPPOSED CORE SEGMENTS, SAID CORE SEGMENTS BEING MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER AND EACH HAVING A PLURALITY OF THRUST-RECEIVING FACES AND RECESSES WITH THE THRUST-RECEIVING FACES ON THE CORE SEGMENTS IN ONE PAIR BEING ALIGNED WITH THE RECESSES IN THE OTHER PAIR AND THE THRUST-RECEIVING FACES ON SAID OTHER PAIR BEING ALIGNED WITH THE RECESSES IN SAID ONE OAIR, A FIRST SHAFT MOVABLE FOR MOVING THE CORE FORMER TO AND FROM AN OPERATIVE POSITION IN A MOLD AND HAVING MEANS SLIDABLY CONNECTED TO SAID CORE SEGMENTS FOR GUIDING THE MOVEMENTS THEREOF, A SECOND SHAFT ROTATABLY CARRIED IN SAID FIRST SHAFT AND HAVING CAN MEANS MOUNTED THEREON AND INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID CORE SEGMENTS, SAID CAM MEANS HAVING LOBES RECEIVABLE IN SAID RECESSES WHEN THE CORE-FORMER IS COLLAPSED AND RECEIVABLE AGAINST SAID THRUST-RECEIVING FACES UPON ROTATION OF SAID SECOND SHAFT TO MOVE SAID CORE SEGMENTS OUTWARDLY FOR EXPANDING THE CORE-FORMER, MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID CORE SEGMENTS FOR MOVING THEM INWARDLY TO COLLAPSE THE CORE-FORMER, AND MEANS BRIDGING AND CLOSING THE SPACES BETWEEN SAID CORE SEGMENTS. 